Larry Fedora tabs Tabb as likely TE successor

Posted by Kevin McGuire on March 5, 2014, 11:42 AM EDT

AP

One of the big questions for North Carolina this spring is who will be filling in the shoes of tight end Eric Ebron? Head coach Larry Fedora knows he has some options to play with this spring as he tries to answer that question.

In an interview with ESPN.com, Fedora was asked about the tight end position. The third-year head coach of the Tar Heels hinted the likely successor for Ebron could be Jack Tabb, the only other tight end to record any stats in 2013 at North Carolina.

“Jack Tabb will most likely step into that role,” Fedora said. “We’ve got Brandon Fritts, an incoming freshman, that is here. We have Eric Albright there; Tyler Alberts is moved into that position. We’re going to have some good competition there this spring. We’re going to have a tight end on the field.”

Tabb caught seven passes last season for 119 yards and a touchdown. He also served a two-game suspension for a violation of team rules last season. As you can see, the rest of the tight end options are lacking in experience. Fritts was a three-star recruit out of Ohio in North Carolina’s Class of 2014. North Carolina also added three-star Avery Edwards, although he will not be on campus until the summer. Albright sat third on the depth chart at the end fo the 2013 season for UNC behind Ebron and Tabb. Alberts is moving over to offense after initially coming to North Carolina to play defensive end. For now, Tabb should be the most likely option coming out of the spring, and that seems to be just fine with Fedora.

“Jack has the opportunity to be just as productive as Ebron was, and this enables other receivers on the field to get more balls also,” Fedora said.

Ebron, a sure NFL talent led the Tar Heels with 973 yards in 2013, but he recorded just three touchdowns.